Soul on Sunday - Every Little Bit Hurts / Brenda Holloway

Easily one of the most under-rated acts on Motown, Brenda Holloway's sound was closer to the southern soul sounds than many of her Tamla contemporaries. Perhaps as a consequence of the slightly different sound, she never felt a good fit with the label and retired to the life of a housewife in 1970. Back performing, this is her first and biggest hit from a concert in 2005.

Sound Dimension - Real Rock

it's been a quiet week here at O M D... that's because it's sunny outside, duh! Here's something for the glorious weather.

Soul on Sunday - Where Did Our Love Go / The Supremes

Some classic Motown this week with the single that broke the Supremes and gave us Diana Ross (for better or worse). At this point in their career, the Supremes were struggling to get noticed but when the Marvelettes passes on the chance to record this HDH song, the Supremes did it and it became their first number one. The story goes that the lead vocal was originally scored for Marvelettes' lead Gladys Horton so was lower than Ross was used to. Singing at this register gave her voice the warm tones that went on to dominate the Supremes and brought them a run of hits.

Suspicious Minds Day Part 5

...and some Elvis. Can't be beaten.



Shove it up your nose indeed.

Suspicious Minds Day Part 4

...from much missed (maybe) 80s popsters Fine Young Cannibals. Apparently Jimmy Sommerville sang backing vocals on this!

Suspicious Minds Day Part 3

...and some country rock from Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter...

Suspicious Minds Day Part 2

and here's a techno version from Miss Kittin and the Hacker... Will they be doing this at Get Loaded? I hope so...

Suspicious Minds Day Part 1

It's a lovely sunny day, but I'm stuck in doing some DIY. So to cheer me up, here's a Suspicious Minds cover by Rocksteady legend, Winston Francis.



There may be more to follow ;o)

Soul on Sunday - The Thrill is Gone / Aretha Franklin

Something a bit more blues-influenced from Aretha this week, with her version of a song made popular by BB King. I love this side of Aretha, slowed down and led by the piano (which she played on this).

Soul on Sunday - What Have You Done / Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens

I was sure that I'd put this up before, but it would seem not and with the album about to be released now is as good a time as any. I've been listening to a lot of old gospel recently from the 1940s and 50s (watch out for some here!) and, despite being new, this slots in quite neatly alongside.

Festival Forecast - The Sparrow and the Workshop

This is the debut single, out on Monday no less, from The Shadow and the Workshop, a band whose singer came third in the world female stone skimming championships. With this being a music, rather than a stone-skimming blog, we're going to focus on the single which sounds like a cross between the outlaw country of Merle Haggard with the gothic melodrama of Nick Cave. It's very good, it's out on monday (album to follow in June) and they're appearing at End of the Road. That's all you need to know.

Festival Forecast - Dear Reader

Widely tipped South African band Dear Reader are down to play the Sunrise arena at Latitude this year. The orchestration reminds me a bit of Broken Records, whom they are rumoured to be supporting on Wednesday so will report back then. For now, here is the latest single Dearheart. The album is out soon, so this will be an interesting couple of weeks for them...

Festival Forecast - The Leisure Society

Despite the music press' obsession with electro/pop bands at the moment, this lot seem to be building up a little bit of buzz. Like their music it's subtle and understated buzz, but with an album out and a load of festival dates and gigs planned over the summer they could well be receiving a lot more attention by the time they appear at End of the Road in September. The album sounds reminiscent of the kind of americana peddled by Vetiver and Midlake albeit with a distinctively English twist. Here is "A Short Weekend Begins With Longing" live in Brighton.

Festival Forecast - Jonathan Jeremiah

It's been a busy week or two on the festivals front with plenty of announcements. That means it's time to start picking out a few acts, new and old, that can be seen at festivals I'll be attending this summer...

First up is Jonathan Jeremiah, a folkie singer songwriter from London. His myspace is light on details except that a) he has his debut album coming out on Island (no details as to when) and b) Bernard Butler guested on said album, as did Fred Wesley and the new JBs. I'm sure we'll all know more by the time he appears in the sunrise arena at Latitude, but until then we have this rather lovely song, "It doesn't bother me".

Soul on Sunday - Eyes on the Prize / Mavis Staples

Here's a classic protest song, with a video to match, as done by Mavis Staples on her latest album, 2007's "We'll never turn back". The album was conceived as a collection of songs about the American civil rights movement, and is well worth looking out for. Mavis' voice has matured with time, taking on a rich, rounded tone since her days with the staple singers.